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Show us your cool, "old" drill press

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bugzilla46310

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Joined
Feb 4, 2023
Messages
147
Location
Demotte, IN
This was my uncle’s drill. I obtained it about 45 years ago. No marking of any brand on it. Although I have updated to a Craftsman 150, I still use this drill quite a bit. It has a Morse taper “chuck”. I still have the original motor in which the butterfly type centrifugal weights broke. I went through it probably 30 years ago and painted it green at that time. I believe it was black originally. Just got done with a project and haven’t swept up yet so a bit more dirty than normal.
IMG_1615.jpeg
 
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crguy

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Joined
Jan 24, 2016
Messages
2,631
Location
SW Washington
bugzilla46310 said:
This was my uncle’s drill. I obtained it about 45 years ago. No marking of any brand on it. Although I have updated to a Craftsman 150, I still use this drill quite a bit. It has a Morse taper “chuck”. I still have the original motor in which the butterfly type centrifugal weights broke. I went through it probably 30 years ago and painted it green at that time. I believe it was black originally. Just got done with a project and haven’t swept up yet so a bit more dirty than normal.
IMG_1615.jpeg
Click to expand...
Several good features on that one, including the sliding head which is an easier way to make height adjustments than moving the table. My Buffalo has that feature.
 
D

dutchgray

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Joined
Sep 28, 2014
Messages
6,456
Location
Dorset. England.
Bought an Arboga Maskiner E825, might not really be vintage enough for this thread.
Not tested it yet, looks in decent condition though.
20250520_184601.jpg
Needs a couple things sorting like the missing gear shift lever etc, table has some divots in but not terrible.
Was £200 delivered to my yard so you just say yes and get your wallet out.
 
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Ultradog MN

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Joined
Jan 20, 2024
Messages
727
Location
Twin Cities
That is an outstanding machine.
I believe the E825 was built from some time in the 1960s till the 1980s so I would say it qualifies as a vintage drill press.
The lower half of the column on my own drill is from an AB E825. The head on it was pretty much fubar so I cut it shorter, made an adapter and grafted a different head on it.
 

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olddog1

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Joined
Mar 28, 2025
Messages
66
I got this Duro drill press probably 30 years ago. I'm guessing it was made in the '40s. It was painted the typical light green color most of us remember from junior high and high school shop. At that time I stripped it and painted it the gray color you see here and had all of the hardware cad plated. I use it regularly and it's never missed a beat!
 

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jabberwoki

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May 1, 2009
Messages
6,441
Location
puyallup wa usa
If it`s before the age of made in china , its old enough.
dutchgray said:
Bought an Arboga Maskiner E825, might not really be vintage enough for this thread.
Not tested it yet, looks in decent condition though.
20250520_184601.jpg
Needs a couple things sorting like the missing gear shift lever etc, table has some divots in but not terrible.
Was £200 delivered to my yard so you just say yes and get your wallet out.
Click to expand...

 
F

fordoz

Active member
Joined
Apr 21, 2024
Messages
39
olddog1 said:
I got this Duro drill press probably 30 years ago. I'm guessing it was made in the '40s. It was painted the typical light green color most of us remember from junior high and high school shop. At that time I stripped it and painted it the gray color you see here and had all of the hardware cad plated. I use it regularly and it's never missed a beat!
Click to expand...
She’s a beauty!!!
 
D

dutchgray

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Sep 28, 2014
Messages
6,456
Location
Dorset. England.
dutchgray said:
Bought an Arboga Maskiner E825, might not really be vintage enough for this thread.
Not tested it yet, looks in decent condition though.
20250520_184601.jpg
Needs a couple things sorting like the missing gear shift lever etc, table has some divots in but not terrible.
Was £200 delivered to my yard so you just say yes and get your wallet out.
Click to expand...
Well I had some time today so removed the flip up chuck guard (as it was stopping the chuck I had fitting) stuffed a 3 phase plug on the end of the wires in temporary fashion and tried it out, runs nicely, in all gear ratios and both motor speeds, so I'm very pleased with my £200 investment.
 
A

ATL86

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Joined
May 31, 2025
Messages
36
Found this in a barn in Kansas. Sitting back on the floor. It had been used very little and every single thing on it was original from the factory. Only thing missing was the 2 thumb nuts that set the drill heighth. Has about .002 runout on the spindle and its used about everyday now! 59db497b-e9b6-467e-8222-0a7f863ad42c.jpg20241209_223331.jpg20241221_203948.jpg20241221_203939.jpg20241221_203948.jpg20241221_224039.jpg20241225_091603.jpg20241221_211455.jpg20241222_004048.jpg20241221_200536.jpg
 

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Ultradog MN

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Jan 20, 2024
Messages
727
Location
Twin Cities
ATL86 said:
Found this in a barn in Kansas. Sitting back on the floor. It had been used very little and every single thing on it was original from the factory. Only thing missing was the 2 thumb nuts that set the drill heighth. Has about .002 runout on the spindle and its used about everyday now! 59db497b-e9b6-467e-8222-0a7f863ad42c.jpg20241209_223331.jpg20241221_203948.jpg20241221_203939.jpg20241221_203948.jpg20241221_224039.jpg20241225_091603.jpg20241221_211455.jpg20241222_004048.jpg20241221_200536.jpg
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Beautiful cleanup and paint job on it!
 
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Nortonscustom

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Joined
Jun 5, 2008
Messages
375
dutchgray said:
Bought an Arboga Maskiner E825, might not really be vintage enough for this thread.
Not tested it yet, looks in decent condition though.
20250520_184601.jpg
Needs a couple things sorting like the missing gear shift lever etc, table has some divots in but not terrible.
Was £200 delivered to my yard so you just say yes and get your wallet out.
Click to expand...
Great find! I'm super curious what is the on/off switch in the base for?
 
F

fordoz

Active member
Joined
Apr 21, 2024
Messages
39
Picked up this Craftsman 15” 101 series a few days ago. Has anyone ever seen a 15” with that type of return spring? That style is usually used on the smaller Atlas/Craftsman models. It has no ID tag or holes for the ID tag. The motor dates to 1936. The switch plate was missing so I started making a new one, thanks IMG_6701.jpegIMG_6690.jpeg
 
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dutchgray

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Joined
Sep 28, 2014
Messages
6,456
Location
Dorset. England.
Well today I got a Walker Turner, not particularly common over here, a buddy of mine wants it so it will be going out again almost straight away.
20250624_125439.jpg
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And a trio of Pollard production drills, these are basic 5 speed belt drive units, two are MT1 spindles the other MT2, lovely things, but old fashioned, very heavy, need a bit doing to them.
20250624_190653.jpg
 
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VolksWomble

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Jun 4, 2022
Messages
267
Location
UK
Not really noticed this thread before, but it’s definitely my sort of thing :)

not sure how old is old enough, but here’s one of my favourite scrap finds x intercepted on the way to the scrap yard for once…

IMG_3512.jpeg

it is a Meddings Paciera 10 speed (belt and gears for hi/lo). It’s 3phase, hence the need for the converter box.

IMG_3707.jpeg

despite not looking pretty it doesn’t seem to have lead a hard life, and cost me the princely sum of £20 plus a new bit of cable…

IMG_3708.jpeg
 
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D

dutchgray

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Sep 28, 2014
Messages
6,456
Location
Dorset. England.
VolksWomble said:
Not really noticed this thread before, but it’s definitely my sort of thing :)

not sure how old is old enough, but here’s one of my favourite scrap finds x intercepted on the way to the scrap yard for once…

IMG_3512.jpeg

it is a Meddings Paciera 10 speed (belt and gears for hi/lo). It’s 3phase, hence the need for the converter box.

IMG_3707.jpeg

despite not looking pretty it doesn’t seem to have lead a hard life, and cost me the princely sum of £20 plus a new bit of cable…

IMG_3708.jpeg
Click to expand...
Looks in very good order for a machine that was scrapped, would have been a real shame for that one to have been destroyed.
 
V

VolksWomble

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Jun 4, 2022
Messages
267
Location
UK
dutchgray said:
Looks in very good order for a machine that was scrapped, would have been a real shame for that one to have been destroyed.
Click to expand...
yep, exactly! I’ve had it over 10 years now, and it’s a joy to use. i got chatting to the guys hired to clear the building as I walked past one lunchtime. I was asking if I could snag the Proxxon micro-Mill out of the skip when I noticed the drill. They were happy just not to have to lift it into their van!

looking at the pictures, I should add that their was no chuck with it, so I added that Chinese hand chuck from eBay on the advice of a machinist/fabricator friend. Again it’s been faultless.

these geared Meddings drills still go for circa £600 here in the U.K. last time I checked.
 
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tubes_rule

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Joined
Dec 12, 2023
Messages
46
I got my atlas last year, to match all my other vintage tools. I want to restore it. Deciding on the color. The motor bracket is busted at a corner, I need to get the key for it.
 

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tubes_rule

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Dec 12, 2023
Messages
46
Beerhippie said:
What make and model is the chuck? It Jacobs, easy enough to get a new key.
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Yeah I got that works but is in very sad shape. I just looked, is a Hartford chu. I did a bit of rust removal.
 

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tubes_rule

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Dec 12, 2023
Messages
46
My other drill a bit smaller pretty vintage around 60 years or so. 100 % new belt, Jacobs.
 

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endangeredspecies

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Apr 11, 2022
Messages
264
Location
SF Bay Area
Not sure how "Cool" it is since there's an entire thread on rebuilding them, but here's my early-vintage Craftsman 100.
It was my wife's Grandpa's. Gotta be about 75 years old, but I don't know exact year. He moved to California in 1942 and likely picked it up a few years after that. Her dad kept it in the garage after his passing, but never really used it. I put it to work a few times - which is when I noticed it needed a belt and some hardware, and could use a good going-through.

I tore it down (initially just to move it from house to house, to house), installed a larger (specified 1/3HP) motor; replaced motor, pulley and quill bearings, standard hardware, and belt. Removed decades of gunk from the quill, pinion, head, and chuck. Cleaned up the paint; removed surface rust from the unfinished column, rods, and chuck.
Without help from FrankLee and a bunch of others on the Craftsman Drill Press site, I would have left in on the curb and picked up a cheapie little benchtop unit. But this is way cooler than that, and a good bit more useful, too.

https://imgur.com/a/P5zYQXz

https://imgur.com/a/cSaHH4s
 
O

Oregon rock crusher

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Jun 28, 2016
Messages
1,898
Location
West of Salem
Here is a little bench top Duro I've had for a while now. Probably from the late 30's. A vintage Wards add shows it being used as a shaper by flipping the head. Not likely near as successful in that application than as a simple drill press. Ed.
 

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